


Surprise

by cecania



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, ulric siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-14
Updated: 2017-07-14
Packaged: 2018-12-01 23:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11497440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecania/pseuds/cecania
Summary: He's finally made it to Insomnia and all he wants is a reminder of home.





	Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story I'm posting with Eerie's revised canon. It's also my attempt to try to put out some of her new backstory. Thanks to recent Twitter updates, it's come out that Nyx was twenty when everything happened in Galahd and there's a huge age gap between him and Eerie. That will probably be explained or addressed later on. For now, I just wanted to write cute things.

 

            Tapping his boot against the concrete, Nyx hunkered into his jacket a little more. He could feel people staring at him, making him feel like he shouldn’t be there, that he didn’t belong. It wasn’t like he did, it wasn’t like the city had been kind to him in the short time he’d been here. But hadn’t she been saying that every time he talked to her?

            His shoulders straightened, his head lifting. If his baby sister could get through the stares for three years, he could tolerate it for the five minutes he had to stand here.

            Studying the building in front of him, he had to give it to their uncle. He’d sent Eyra to a good school. Or at least it looked like a good school. Kal had promised Vex he would take care of his niece like she was his own. Of course, Nyx hadn’t really been interested in any of it at the time; all he’d cared about was that someone was taking his baby sister away. At seventeen, he’d been pissed that Eyra was being sent to Insomnia. She was Galahd and needed to be raised with them, with her family. He’d been working, had been helping support the family. Selena had been working part time, they had the money; their mother had still sent her away, saying it wasn’t a matter of money.

            His stomach twisted. No. It hadn’t been about the money at all. Their mother ran a diner in Galahd and had information filter through her hands every day. She had known what was coming and sent the youngest of them away. They had all known that if anything had happened to Eyra their entire family would have shattered. It had kept her safe but their family had still broken.

            Nyx steeled himself. Two weeks, five days, eighteen hours, thirty-seven minutes. He didn’t know how long it was going to take to stop hearing those screams but it was longer than that. The few people he’d talked to had assured him it would fade. In time. For now, they haunted his waking moments and filled his dreams. He’d taken to not sleeping much, unwilling to put himself through that. When he did, it was because he’d passed out from exhaustion.

            “Are you lost?”

            The voice made him tense further. Not because someone was speaking to him but their tone left no room for doubt about why they were talking to him. Did people talk like _that_ to his sister? His head shifted enough to look at the speaker. Woman, well dressed, well kept, disgusting expression. “Lost?” he asked quietly, aware of the difference in their accents.

            Her nose wrinkled a little more, her thin mouth flattening further. “This isn’t a place for your kind,” she said primly.

            He turned to her a little more. “My kind?” he echoed.

            She wasn’t even subtle as her eyes raked over him. He knew what she’d see-faded t-shirt with the malboro daemon on it, ragged jeans, leather boots, the braids and beads in his hair. All of it marked him as distinctly not from Insomnia. “You shouldn’t be around our children,” she sneered.

            His temper sparked under his skin and he grit his teeth. “I’m not around your children,” he said lowly. “I’m waiting. Like you.”

            “To pick off one of our kids? Let me tell you-”

            He spun on the ball of his foot to look at her, taking petty satisfaction from the way she stumbled back from him. “No, let me tell you,” he snapped. “I’m here to pick up my little sister from school. I don’t know what _you_ are doing here but if you keep coming at me, I will report you.”

            “Report me?” she protested. “For what?”

            “Harassing a member of the Kingsglaive,” he growled.

            Her eyes widened further and she took another step back. She didn’t say anything else and hurried away.

            A sick feeling curled in his gut but he watched her run away from him. He shouldn’t have done that. He’d only applied to the Glaive, hadn’t been accepted yet. Even if he had been, using that position to threaten a citizen of Insomnia wasn’t a good start to his future career. There was too much anger in him right now and he was lashing out.

            Time. He needed time to heal. But he didn’t have it. None of them had it anymore.

            A bell rang out, cutting through his thoughts and drawing his attention back to the school. It was still a few moments before kids started to leave the building and each one was an eternity. The sick feeling passed as his heart leapt into his throat. He’d only gotten in today; he should have stayed at Kal’s place and waited for her to get home. But he’d wanted to do this, wanted to see her as soon as he could. He hadn’t told her he was coming, hadn’t told Kal either.

            Which was rude to his uncle. The man had been startled to see him walk into the diner earlier, a heavy pack over his shoulder and a bag in the other hand. Kal had taken one look at him and ushered him upstairs. He hadn’t asked any questions, taking one of the bags as he told Nyx to help himself to the food, the couch, the shower, whatever he needed. He’d nearly snagged his uncle for a hug but he let the older man go back down to the diner as he sank onto the couch. Mustering enough energy to have a shower, he’d used the rest of his time washing off the smell of the ferry over and the long days and nights of the last two weeks. Kal had given him the address to the school when he asked and sent him off.

            _“It’ll be a good surprise for her. It’ll be good for you both.”_

Nyx sure hoped so. It had been almost a year since he’d seen her last and he wasn’t sure how this was going to happen. The last time they’d been in the same room, he’d promised her so many things about what they were going to do the next time she came home for the summer. He couldn’t keep any of those promises now with everything that had happened and it begged so many questions. The biggest one was if she really understood that Selena was gone.

            The world tilted, dulling at the edges, but he gave himself a shake. Not here. Not now. He was waiting for Eyra and he wasn’t going to lose focus now. They still had to walk home and-

            Childish giggling filled the air as more students flooded out of the school. His head moved as he searched for his sister, regretting that he hadn’t asked Kal what she’d worn to school today. Was he going to spot her? Was she going to spot him? Maybe he should have called the school to let her know he was coming. It would have ruined the surprise but at least he would have found her easily.

            His heart thumped against his ribs when he saw a small girl hopping down the steps of the school, hands fisted in the straps of her backpack. She wasn’t looking around, focused completely on what she was doing. Alone. He knew she’d said she didn’t have an easy time making friends but watching her, his heart broke a little. If the parents were any indication of what the kids were like, life in Insomnia couldn’t have been easy for her. But maybe he could make it a little easier now.

            He took a step forward and coughed as his mouth suddenly felt dry. “Ree!” he called, a little louder than he’d intended.

            Black hair flew as her head snapped up immediately, wide eyes looking around. The nickname was theirs and only theirs. She knew that and knew he had said it.

            He walked toward the entrance of the school and ignored the looks he got from adults and children alike. “Ree,” he said again when he got closer.

            She turned to him immediately, her eyes getting wider somehow. “Nyx?” she squeaked. “Nyx?”

            Despite how exhausted he was, he felt a surge of elation rush through him as she leapt off the stairs to charge him. He had enough time to lean down to catch her before her small body could crash into his legs. Lifting her off the ground, he hugged her tightly to him. He felt her feet flail a little as she kicked excitedly, hugging him back as hard as she could.

            Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to kiss her hair before pulling back enough to look at her. “Hey, kiddo,” he murmured.

            She grinned at him, her eyes bright with tears. “Hi.”

            He smiled back at her, knowing he should put her down but not wanting to yet. “Have a good day at school?”

            Eyra nodded. “Are you visiting?”

            “Nah, I’m moving here.”

            Her eyes got big again. “Moving here?” she squeaked.

            “Yeah. Joining the Kingsglaive.”

            Dark brows furrowed slightly. “I don’t know what that is,” she admitted, “but you’re gonna be the best at it!”

            Nyx laughed and kissed her forehead before setting her down. He smiled as she grabbed his hand. “Sure, kiddo. Want me to carry your stuff?”

            Her hair flew again as she shook her head, a braid he hadn’t noticed before smacking his arm as she did so. “I got it! I’m an Ulric so I’m tough!”

            He snorted as they started down the sidewalk, her peppering him with questions every two seconds and letting go of his hand to hug him in between. But her words rang in his head, about being an Ulric and tough. She was only nine, didn’t have any reason to be tough, but he was going to do his damnedest to make sure that she never had one.

            He’d already let one sister down and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.


End file.
